In the Gospel of Mark – Chapter 5 Jesus heals three people. First there is a demon possessed man who the people tried to chain and who cut himself. He was completely healed by Jesus. Then there was a woman who had a bleeding disorder for twelve years. She had sought help from many doctors. None of them could help her. She had faith to believe Jesus could help her, and when she touched his clothes she was healed. A synagogue leader named Jairus asked Jesus to heal his daughter. While they were on their way to Jairus’ home, people came and told them the daughter had died. Jesus told Jairus not to fear but only believe. When Jesus came to the house he healed the daughter and had her get up and walk. Jesus gave a testimony by these healings that His teachings about himself were true and by them he established his authority. Jesus came to heals us from God’s judgment which we’re under because we all break God’s commandments. Jesus said this about Himself; “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”, and “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word [perceives, understands], and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” Is faith and obedience to Jesus the answer for America?

Today, Jesus heals people directly or through doctors and medicine. When Jesus walked on the earth He didn’t heal everyone with physical problems, likewise, not everyone who believes in Jesus is healed today. But, those who come to him, and repent of their sins are healed from eternal death. We’re all ill with sin, today come to Jesus so He can heal you and set you free.

Freedom of religion is being thretened by Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services mandate to the Catholic Church to provide contraceptives and abortion pills to employees of Catholic related institutions (hospitals, adoption agencies, etc.). Eventually this ruling will apply to all religious related institutions (missions, charities, schools, etc.). The only exempt organizations (for now) would be houses of worship. What the HHS is demanding is a violation of the conscious of faith based works. The time has come to draw a line that God believers will not cross. This link is too a petition urging a change of policy. After signing the petition you will taken to a video of Chuck Colsen explaining the possible need for civil disobedience. http://​manhattandeclaration.org/​petition/petition.aspx

God’s prophets words come true. The descendants of Canaan the son of Ham settled in the promised land of Israel and eventually were invaded by the descendants of Shem (Hebrews ) when they left Egypt under the leadership of Moses. Joshua led the Hebrews to victory over the Canaanites and took possession of the Land. Some of the Canaanites became slaves of the Hebrews. Now the Jewish people are back in the Land and some of those who oppose them are may be descendants of Canaan.

The sin of Ham was showing disrespect for his father. Instead of covering his father’s nakedness and keeping quiet about what he had seen, he went to the other sons and mocked his father. One of the 10 commandments is “Honor your father and your mother.” This is a fundamental moral precept of God. The word yareh in Hebrew means to gaze upon, look at, saw (visual). Ham’s disrepect ends in a curse from Noah on his

Some scholars seizing on the term of Noah being uncovered have come up with the idea that Ham had homosexual sin with his father. They say the term uncovering a person is used in Scriptures as a euphemism to mean sexual intercourse. However, the context in which these references to sexual intercourse occur is clear. There is absolutely no context for this interpretation in 9:20-24.

God proclaims a covenant between him and all living creatures that he would never again destroy life on earth by a flood. He give the rainbow as a sign of this covenant. It is interesting that the gay and others appropriate this sign as a sign of diversity. Diversity is used by these folks to mean that all people should be seen as acceptable including those that violate God’s prohibition against homosexuality. The rainbow coalition is divisive by lifting up each sub-group as being more important than the whole community. I don’t mean by this that people should not appreciate their ethnic or cultural background. But, when ethnicity is focused on, while at the same time making it more important than the overall culture, it is wrong.

This covenant doesn’t mean that God will not punish people by other means such as famine, fire, war, and disease. Many people in present day America and Europe reject the idea that God will judge them. If they believe in God at all they believe in a god of their own imagination that condones all manner of sin.

God commands Noah and his sons to multiply and fill the earth – similar to God’s command to Adam and Eve. But now instead of only eating the produce of the land, God allows for the eating of animals, birds and fish. But, God forbids the eating of blood because it represents the life of the animals. The taboo on eating blood is also a foreshadowing of the Mosaic Sacrifical Law in Lev. 17:11 where God forbids the eating of blood because it is to be used on the altar for forgiveness of sin. All this in turn points to the atoning work of Jesus – the ultimate blood sacrifice. For those who are turned off by the idea of a blood atonement – consider that it represents how much God hates sin. It takes the death of an innocent animal and ultimately the death of God’s son to cover and remove the stain of sin. God describes blood as the life of the animal or human. It is blood that carries the life given oxygen and nutrition to the cells of the body. It is the blood that sustains human and animal life. Peter in 1 Peter 1:18-19 describes the atoning work of Jesus in this way; “knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” Peter is also playing on the fact that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Passover Lamb – having died on the same day and the same hour. The Passover lamb protected the Hebrews from God’s wrath which slew the first born of the Egyptians.
God also forbids the killing of people in verse 6 because like Gen. 1 & 3 God made man in His own image. This points to the uniqueness of mankind. In the same chapter God allows the slaughter of animals for food, God forbids the murder of humans. Mankind is God’s agent on the earth to be His representative and agency of rulership.

Through out the Bible those who are true worshipers of God (Able, Noah) turn to a blood sacrifice as a means of approaching Holy pure God Almighty. When Noah shows thankfulness to God for surviving the Flood he builds and altar and sacrifices an animal. The offering is pleasing to God.

God commands Noah to come out of the Ark and release all the animals in order to replenish the earth. God’s ultimate goal is to restore the Garden of Eden in the New Heaven and New Earth (See the book of Revelation). The renewal of life is also a picture of the resurrection of Jesus who conquers death and opens the door to eternal life in the messianic age and in heaven.

Noah sends out a dove to see if it was safe to leave the Ark. This is one reason the dove is seen as a symbol of peace. The greatest peace of all is to have peace with God. When God is blessing a land, peace and prosperity reign. Of course the reverse is also true. Is America presently under God’s blessing or curse?

All humans and living creatures were killed by flood. God will not be mocked – sin provokes His anger. Proverbs rightly states the beginning of wisdom is the fear (respect and submission) of the Lord. Today’s America woefully rejects Proverbs wisdom. The rejection of God is like walking with hiking boots on thin ice. Sooner or later people will fall into icy (or in biblical terms – hot) water.